Are you looking for ways to cut business costs? Guess what; there might be one area you could look at that could save you up to 50 percent of your expense bill by the end of the year.

Take a gander at the cost of skilled labor. For instance, we all know that starting a business requires good market research and an accountant or a CFO to ensure you make more than you spend. Then there is your business’ branding or image and the marketing of your product and campaigns aligned with that.All of these elements, for the most part, require staff to manage.

But there’s a way to cut down many of these costs…Try out these 5 ways to save on manpower expenses by systemizing your processes:

1. Use a human capital management system

Do you have more than one employee that you need to keep track of? Perhaps you have hired on an hourly basis and need a way to monitor employee hours so you can adjust the payroll accordingly? Also, are there various union contracts and pay rules you want to enforce, but you cannot manage everything yourself? A human capital management system could be the answer you have been searching for.

HCM systems provide HR management, on-boarding, benefits administration, time and attendance tracking, and more. While there are costs for purchasing software of this type, the costs are much less than hiring an HR person to fill the same role.

2. Get rid of (most) meetings

Meetings where you discuss issues with co-investors or your staff can have the tendency be a time drain, which means money out the window. Is there something you want to discuss, or perhaps you wish to solicit input? If so, set up a Trello board where people can comment on issues or submit issues for discussion.

Trello is a great app that can be used to keep track of to dos, project outlines, ideas, brainstorm sessions, and more. You and your employees can now spend your most productive hours actually on the job, versus just talking about the job.

3. Outsource when needed

Is there some tedious task that needs doing? Perhaps you need to input data on past sales, but it means going through years’ worth of inventory files. Instead of having Sally do it for $30 an hour (which is what her pay comes down to when broken into hourly equivalents), why not outsource?

Use a vetted virtual admin service, or find a hire on Outsource.com that you can contract out the work to. Thus saving your full-time employees for the particular focus you hired them to do.

4. Get technology to do the heavy lifting

If it’s a repetitive task common within the business realm, chances are good that there’s an app or software for it. Use Hootsuite to manage your social media accounts. MailChimp is fantastic for managing your email newsletters. Evernote is the best note taker around, and ZipBooks can ease the burden of accounting and invoicing.

5. Systematize and schedule everything

Having systems for handling a process, a customer, or a complaint means less time spent dealing with that issue when it arises. As issues come up in your business, write out a system for them so that the next time it comes up, your staff will know how to handle it. Once you have systems in place, your business will run more smoothly. And you will be spending less man hours dealing with complications.

Schedules are also necessary for the running of a well-functioning endeavor. Keep a closely monitored calendar of when payments are due, when licenses need to be renewed, etc. This way you will manage more than half of the unpleasant surprises that plague most businesses.

Conclusion

Cut costs by following these guidelines. And don’t be surprised to find your staff becoming more efficient and effective.